1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to patient transfer systems and, more particularly, to transferring a patient to and from a bed and a chair, wheelchair, commode, or other seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The process of transferring an invalid person to and from a bed and a chair often requires the help of two or more assistants. The task frequently requires considerable strength and is a common source of injury to the person being transferred or to an attendant doing the transfer or both. These transfer problems are often the major reason for requiring a patient to be hospitalized or moved to a nursing home, rather than being cared for at home, and then, in many cases, increase the cost of caring for persons in hospitals and nursing homes. Further, invalid persons can easily be injured when they are being transferred between a bed and a wheelchair, due to such causes as stresses placed on weak bones, decubitus ulcers, or as a result of accidental falling.
Prior designs, for example those shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,726,082, 4,797,960, 4,819,283, 5,127,113, and 5,319,813, and other patents assigned to Nova Technologies, Inc., describe various novel arrangements for transferring an invalid person to and from a bed and a separate wheelchair, chair, commode, or other seat by means of a transfer sheet rolled up on a roller at the foot of the bed, pulled over the bed mattress, and unrolled from a roller at the head of the bed. These prior designs solve the problems associated with patient transfer. However, there is a continuing need to reduce the complexity and costs associated with the design, manufacture, and operation of patient transfer systems while still maintaining the comfort, safety and ease associated with prior designs.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a special wheelchair, chair, or other seat design, and a bed equipped with rollers, a transport sheet, and a lifting mechanism, so that a person can be comfortably transported over the bed and partially onto the horizontal seat of the wheelchair or chair and then raised to a normal sitting position thereon, with no effort on the part of the invalid person and requiring only moderate physical strength or skill on the part of an attendant.
It is another object of this invention to provide a comfortable and safe method of transfer with minimum stress on the person's body and minimum sliding action which could cause injury or aggravate the person.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a simpler arrangement which can provide substantially the same degree of comfort, safety and ease of prior patient transfer systems at significantly lower cost for design, manufacture, and operation.